GOTY 2024

10. Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake

Even in a year packed with great JRPGs, a remake of a 36 year-old Dragon Quest game still manages to be a standout.

Back in 1988, DQ3 was a bit ahead of the curve mechanically, featuring a job system with skill inheritance and a day-night cycle, which I think helps the core of this game hold up a bit better than many other RPGs of the era would. Along with some solid quality of life updates such as a very forgiving auto-save system and adjustable combat speed, this game still feels very good to play without feeling too overly grindy or punishing.

The familiar Dragon Quest soundtrack contributes to an overall very chill and relaxing vibe, and while the HD-2D style can be a bit hit and miss, this is one of the best applications of it that I’ve seen.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of this with the DQ I+II remake coming next year, though I do fear that the age may be much more apparent in them if they don’t receive more substantial changes.

9. UFO 50

While Silksong may still be missing in action, at least one long awaited indie game did deliver in 2024.

UFO 50 does a great job of replicating the experience of diving into a ROM collection for an old console, the only difference in this case being that the old console is fictional. The collection is a bit hit and miss, but there’s enough variety that I think most people will find at least a few that they like well enough that it justifies the entire venture.

Party House is low key one of the best deckbuilders of the year, but there is at least one other deckbuilder this year that is better…and I’m sure you already know what it is.

8. Tactical Breach Wizards

We all love defenestration. It’s just a fact. Add in some charming writing and some solid tactical gameplay that encourages experimentation and rewards creativity, and you have one of the best games of the year.

7. Balatro

Following in the footsteps of Hades and Vampire Survivors, Balatro is this year’s big indie phenomenon that’s already inspiring a mountain of imitators.

While it may not have as much technical depth as something like Slay the Spire or Monster Train, the simple foundation of Balatro is really its biggest strength. Starting with something as familiar and straightforward as poker and then finding ways to warp it almost beyond recognition is just such a satisfying formula. Finding those builds that make the numbers really go up and stomping a challenging ante boss is extremely rewarding, and it’s such a quick and snappy experience that it’s very easy to brush off a loss and immediately dive in for just one more go.

6. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

When this game was initially revealed, bringing back Kiryu felt like a big mistake. After completing a 100+ hour playthrough though, I have to admit that I was wrong. This does feel like the reverent send-off that Kiryu deserved, much more so than what he got in Yakuza 6 or the symbolic passing of the torch to Ichiban in the prior mainline entry. It never manages to hit an emotional peak quite as heavy as the end of last year’s The Man Who Erased His Name, but it still hits hard and provides a satisfying end point for Kiryu’s story.

Unfortunately, splitting time with Kiryu does make it feel like Ichiban's story takes a bit of a back seat in the game. Regardless of the reduced screen time though, Ichiban is still incredibly earnest and endearing throughout. He's the glue that holds this thing together and makes it work, and I can't wait to see his further adventures in the years to come.

Mechanically, RGG addressed pretty much every major shortcoming from their first attempt at turn-based combat. It's maybe a bit simple for some of the hardcore JRPG-heads out there, but it's snappy and fun and that's exactly what this game needs.

5. Granblue Fantasy: Relink

It’s hard for me to believe that I’m saying this about the spin-off of a trashy gacha game, but Granblue Fantasy: Relink may now be among my favorite action JRPGs of all time. The main story campaign is a great set-piece filled roller-coaster that lasts around 15-20 hours, but the thing that's kept me engaged well after seeing the credits is the significant amount of end game content that delivers a very satisfying Monster Hunter MMO-lite sort of experience.

The big selling point for this game is the excellent combat, paired with a big cast of playable characters each with their own unique play style. It's flashy and feels great. And credit to the developers for some excellent balancing and managing to make every character feel viable and powerful.

This game certainly went through some development hell with the nearly eight years it took from announcement to release, so it's nice to see that it managed to survive that and still emerge as such a great game.

4. Unicorn Overlord

In some ways, Unicorn Overlord is the complete inverse of Vanillaware’s previous masterwork, 13 Sentinels. Where 13 Sentinels put story and character first with its pseudo-RTS combat taking a backseat (though I personally think the combat was a criminally underrated part of the experience), Unicorn Overlord has a very understated and relatively commonplace fantasy setting as a backdrop for some very addicting strategy RPG gameplay.

As essentially a modernized Ogre Battle paired with Vanillaware’s high degree of polish and incredible artwork, it was very hard for me to pry myself away from this game. While it’s not an especially challenging game, even on higher difficulties, I still found it almost endlessly satisfying to find new ways to optimize and micromanage my squads to stomp the enemies.

3. Metaphor: ReFantazio

This was an absolute banner year for Sega and Atlus, and chief among their accomplishments is the launch of what will likely be their next big JRPG franchise with Metaphor: ReFantazio.

While Metaphor feels very familiar with its many borrowed elements from Persona and SMT, it still manages to distinguish itself as something new. The fantasy setting is certainly the most apparent aspect, but in terms of gameplay, the highly customizable Archetypes are a great take on a job system and the action element of overworld combat helps the dungeon crawling feel engaging.

Another big part of Metaphor’s appeal is of course the strong cast of well voice-acted characters, many of them dealing with mature and adult problems that would be completely out of place in the high school setting of a Persona game. The incredibly endearing Heismay in particular is a huge standout and has easily become one of my all-time favorite JRPG characters.

But more than anything, the freshest thing about Metaphor is how extremely current and relevant the main storyline feels by being centered around a world embroiled in political turmoil and on the precipice of completely giving in to anxiety and despair. Clinging onto hope for a better future in that world, regardless of whether that hope is drawn from fiction or elsewhere, is a strong and much needed message right now.

The only thing preventing me from calling this the best JRPG of the year is that I do think the pacing really falls apart in the last 25% or so of the game. Many huge story revelations are rushed through very quickly only to then lead into a lengthy chunk of the game where it feels like there’s nothing happening. I’m sure this will be addressed though when we get the inevitable Metaphor: ReReFantazio in a few years.

2. 1000xRESIST

Purely with respect to the narrative experience, 1000xRESIST is probably the best game of the year. While it is light on interactivity, few games achieve this level of writing and world-building. And to an even greater degree than Metaphor, it is a game that is very much about and a product of our current time - touching on topics as specific as the COVID pandemic and contemporary political turmoil like the Hong Kong protests of 2019/2020, while also speaking more broadly about things like cultural identity, generational trauma, and survivor’s guilt.

Yet as haughty as all of that might sound, the flashy sci-fi setting and episodic structure of the game, punctuated by cliffhangers, keep things engaging and maintain the sort of roller-coaster momentum you would expect from a modern serialized TV show.

If you’ve ever cared about a story in a video game, I really do think you should play this.

Hekki ALLMO.

1. Persona 3 Reload

In a year packed with new JRPG experiences, somehow it’s the most familiar one that still made the biggest splash with me.

Persona 3 has long been the best core storyline in the franchise, so pairing that with great new visuals, a solid new voice cast, and a host of other additions and quality of life improvements, is more than enough for this to immediately become an all-time favorite. While I certainly won’t dismiss people arguing that they still prefer elements of prior releases, for myself and probably most people, this is now the definitive P3 experience. Atlus even went as far as including the game’s epilogue with the Episode Aigis (FKA The Answer) DLC, and while I think many of the complaints about it are very valid, the last few hours make for a satisfying final send-off for the SEES team.

I know it’s easy to be jaded about the prevalence of remasters and remakes these days, but when they’re done with this level of effort and reverence for a much beloved game, it’s hard for me to really deny the allure.